Related Interest
Practicing In Public
“A reminder that the public is not an audience to be managed but a messy place where art, life and politics collide . . . a hopeful map of how artists might continue to practice together.”
—Ed Woodham“Part-manual, part-chronicle, this thoughtful collection by critically and socially engaged artists offers inspiration and scaffolding for change-making in their own contexts and on their own terms.”
—Laura Raicovich“Nourishing and insistent reminders of the potential that emanates from commitments to social practice . . . unearths the political strategies that emerge through art making rooted in collaboration.”
—Gervais Marshabout the bookabout
Described as a “dream factory during a polycrisis,” Social Practice CUNY (SPCUNY) is an artist-run network based at the CUNY Graduate Center, bringing together artists, organizers, educators, and scholars working across the university and beyond it. Operating between institutional legitimacy and activist independence, SPCUNY occupies a space in which socially engaged art has long found both its power and its precarity.
Founded in 2021, the program, which aims to amplify the collective power of socially engaged artists and advocates working for social justice, creating space for collaboration across disciplines, institutions, and communities, is winding down in 2027. Practicing in Public is one part of its afterlife. The projects gathered here take many forms: two CUNY graduates make artist books with children, a punk concept album draws on Filipino revolutionary texts, the Public Action League leave a Wall Street bull outside a New York City courthouse. The conversations move between climate justice, embodied practice, music, Palestinian solidarity, abolition, humor and grief.
What makes something art, and what makes it public? And what does it mean to work for the public when artists are already part of the communities they serve? The conversations in this book question the distance between artist and audience, institution and movement, cultural work and political action.
“A valuable resource for generations to come . . . offers insight into the challenges and possibilities of socially engaged practice. More than a record of projects, the book captures the questions that continue to shape the field.”
—Rick Lowe
“A call to gather and a vital resource for socially engaged art practice . . . emphasizes traversing silos within and around public institutions and offers conversations as seeds for new questions and forms of collective work.”
—Alex Strada
“A journey of success stories where dialogue, shared meals, and collaboration are the prize. Conversations with social practice artists devoted to sharing, justice, eating, and healing as art: everybody wins.”
—Linda Mary Montano
“Practice is what we have, doing it consciously is what we can offer as artists, engaging with intentionality is how we take part as citizens. This is the guide we’ve been looking for to get back on the road with new companions.”
—Tania Bruguera
“Practicing in Public beautifully captures the process of collective inquiry. . . a compelling demonstration of conversation itself as a creative and transformative act. An important and generous contribution to the field.”
—Pablo Helguera
About The Author / Editor
The Social Practice CUNY (2021-2027) educational network amplifies the collective power of socially engaged artists, scholars, and advocates throughout the City University of New York’s rich tapestry of faculty, staff, and students working for social justice. Based at the CUNY Graduate Center and co-directed by Chloë Bass and Gregory Sholette, SPCUNY’s theory of educational transformation fosters structures for diverse creative leaders who will empower New York City as an inclusive, justice-driven cultural landscape. This initiative is funded by the Mellon Foundation.
Preview
Coming Soon
in the media
Related Interest
Related Interest
Practicing In Public
“A reminder that the public is not an audience to be managed but a messy place where art, life and politics collide . . . a hopeful map of how artists might continue to practice together.”
—Ed Woodham“Part-manual, part-chronicle, this thoughtful collection by critically and socially engaged artists offers inspiration and scaffolding for change-making in their own contexts and on their own terms.”
—Laura Raicovich“Nourishing and insistent reminders of the potential that emanates from commitments to social practice . . . unearths the political strategies that emerge through art making rooted in collaboration.”
—Gervais Marshabout the bookabout
Described as a “dream factory during a polycrisis,” Social Practice CUNY (SPCUNY) is an artist-run network based at the CUNY Graduate Center, bringing together artists, organizers, educators, and scholars working across the university and beyond it. Operating between institutional legitimacy and activist independence, SPCUNY occupies a space in which socially engaged art has long found both its power and its precarity.
Founded in 2021, the program, which aims to amplify the collective power of socially engaged artists and advocates working for social justice, creating space for collaboration across disciplines, institutions, and communities, is winding down in 2027. Practicing in Public is one part of its afterlife. The projects gathered here take many forms: two CUNY graduates make artist books with children, a punk concept album draws on Filipino revolutionary texts, the Public Action League leave a Wall Street bull outside a New York City courthouse. The conversations move between climate justice, embodied practice, music, Palestinian solidarity, abolition, humor and grief.
What makes something art, and what makes it public? And what does it mean to work for the public when artists are already part of the communities they serve? The conversations in this book question the distance between artist and audience, institution and movement, cultural work and political action.
“A valuable resource for generations to come . . . offers insight into the challenges and possibilities of socially engaged practice. More than a record of projects, the book captures the questions that continue to shape the field.”
—Rick Lowe
“A call to gather and a vital resource for socially engaged art practice . . . emphasizes traversing silos within and around public institutions and offers conversations as seeds for new questions and forms of collective work.”
—Alex Strada
“A journey of success stories where dialogue, shared meals, and collaboration are the prize. Conversations with social practice artists devoted to sharing, justice, eating, and healing as art: everybody wins.”
—Linda Mary Montano
“Practice is what we have, doing it consciously is what we can offer as artists, engaging with intentionality is how we take part as citizens. This is the guide we’ve been looking for to get back on the road with new companions.”
—Tania Bruguera
“Practicing in Public beautifully captures the process of collective inquiry. . . a compelling demonstration of conversation itself as a creative and transformative act. An important and generous contribution to the field.”
—Pablo Helguera
About The Author / Editor
The Social Practice CUNY (2021-2027) educational network amplifies the collective power of socially engaged artists, scholars, and advocates throughout the City University of New York’s rich tapestry of faculty, staff, and students working for social justice. Based at the CUNY Graduate Center and co-directed by Chloë Bass and Gregory Sholette, SPCUNY’s theory of educational transformation fosters structures for diverse creative leaders who will empower New York City as an inclusive, justice-driven cultural landscape. This initiative is funded by the Mellon Foundation.
Preview
Coming Soon